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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · field · bound · stick · tube · season · straw · game

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. game — wild animals
  3. season — of the year
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. season — in sport
  7. game — a match
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — the underground
  12. field — a subject
  13. bound — obliged
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. field — farmland
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com